Kia's Version Of "Unintended Acceleration"

I was hoping the Kia Forte sedan's throttle/clutch driveability issues were an anomaly to the test vehicle we had here at our office a few months ago. So when I got into a Forte Koup last night, I was expecting a noticeable improvement. Wrong. The Koup might even be worse.

Besides a slightly dead clutch feel, the main problem is the car's abrupt throttle. Get off the throttle at low speed in first gear, and then quickly get back on, and the car will lurch forward if you're not careful with your input—it can become quite the herky-jerky affair, quite unusual amongst today's crop of excellent cars. Of course, this issue was exacerbated due to being immediately thrust into stop-and-go traffic as a I drove home last night.

My drive back to the office in the Koup this morning was far better, partially because there was minimal traffic, but also because I had learned just how gentle I needed to be with every throttle input at low speed. It made a huge difference—especially when leaving stoplights. The best way to overcome the abrupt throttle is simply by using as little as possible, particularly when letting out the clutch.

I think part of the problem here is that modern cars are so good, we expect them to be easy to drive from the first time we turn the key. The Kia Koup, on the other hand, requires that you work at least a little bit to get used to its idiosyncrasies. Maybe this isn't such a bad thing. Maybe the Koup's abrupt throttle delivery is an attempt by Kia to teach us all to be better drivers. After all, smooth inputs are key to good driving, whether on the road or on the track.

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